Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Price of Fried Chicken in Old Florida

Winter Haven, 1949-1952

When Cypress Gardens opened in 1936, it was billed as Florida's first commercial theme park. Carved out of a swamp near Winter Haven, the botanical gardens added water-skiing shows and other attractions like hoop-skirted “Southern belles” who strolled through the grounds, chatting with guests and posing for photographs—a little like Mickey Mouse, but prettier. The park was used as the filming location for a number of travelogue romances in the 1940s, including the musical comedy “Moon over Miami,” starring Betty Grable and Don Ameche. It was also the site for a string of movies showcasing aquatic-actress Esther Williams.1 In the 1950s and 1960s, the gardens served as an exotic backdrop for television specials and print advertisements.The souvenir shop sold alligator ashtrays, flamingo figurines, and postcards with scenes of the park like the one on the menu below promoting its Palm Terrace dining room. Reminiscent of a bygone era in tourism, three such menus reveal that food prices then rose faster than inflation from 1949 to 1952, reflecting a societal issue that is still with us.

As shown on this 1949 card, one of the perennial favorites at Cypress Gardens was their peach shortcake made with fresh-frozen peaches and “gobs of whipped cream.”

Prices were the same the following summer; the 1950 menu below includes a new dinner for $1.25—Southern fried chicken served with popovers, honey, and cole slaw. Although the park was situated in the scenic Orange-Belt ridge of central Florida, it exclusively served Donald Duck brand orange juice made from concentrate. The canned product was made by a local cooperative (and Disney licensee since 1941) that processed boxcars of fresh citrus fruit each day at nearby Lake Wales.

Beginning in 1951, Cypress Gardens promoted its own brand of orange juice, a change that may have been prompted by rising food costs. The higher prices are reflected on the menu below. Driven by memories of shortages during World War II, consumers went on a spending spree when the Korean War broke out in June 1950, sparking eight months of soaring inflation. However, when the feared shortages never materialized, spending fell off sharply. The reduction in consumer demand in early 1951 was so dramatic that it had a deflationary effect, counterbalancing the influence of increased military spending.

Economic statistics show that consumer prices increased 10% between 1950 and 1951, and that food prices went up even faster. At Cypress Gardens, the price of a fried chicken dinner rose to $1.85, a whopping 48% increase over the previous year, well above the official rate of inflation. Since per capita income then averaged about $3,000 per year, tourists felt the sting of the higher prices just as they do today when food prices rise faster than wages.2 (Modern economists ignore the costs of food and energy when calculating the core Consumer Price Index, deeming them too volatile for inclusion.)

Ironically, the Donald Duck brand that Cypress Gardens promoted in 1950 was an unwitting reference to a future competitor. Five years before the first Disneyland opened in California, it was impossible to imagine that the cartoonists who created the irascible duck would become a powerhouse in the theme park industry. In 1971, the self-contained resort named Disney World opened in Orlando, a center-state rival that slowly eased Cypress Gardens out of business.After Cypress Gardens closed in 2009, its 150-acre site was converted into Legoland® Florida, the fifth park of the global franchise. As with most such corporate ventures, legoland theme parks are as interchangeable as lego pieces, lacking the quirky charm of old Florida. Fortunately, we still have Weeki Wachee Springs, home of the “live mermaids,” located on the Gulf Coast just north of Tampa.3

Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum and Alice at Weeki Wachee Springs

Notes1. Released on July 4, 1941, “Moon over Miami” begins with a bouncy dance sequence at the Texas Tommy Hamburger Drive-in where Betty Grable and Carole Landis show off their talents before leaving for Miami in search of a rich husband. Filmed in Technicolor by 20th Century Fox, one scene that is revealing with regard to culinary history comes when “Aunt Susan” hands “Jack” a jar of her famous guacamole sauce whose contents are bright red, not the green color of an avocado-based sauce. The consumption of avocados was not widespread in the country until the 1950s, except oddly in California and Florida where the movie was shot.2. The national average wage was $2,973 in 1952, as compared to $40,711 in 2009. Today, the cost of the seared chicken breast entrée at the Coral Reef restaurant in the Walt Disney World Epcot Center is $20.99, roughly equivalent to the price of the fried chicken dinner at Cypress Gardens sixty years ago.3. The mermaids performing in the underwater theater at Weeki Wachee Springs are now state employees. In one of the less-heralded government rescue plans, ownership of the venerable roadside attraction was transferred to the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2008. The following year, the manager was fired for illegally altering time sheets and making inappropriate remarks toward one of the mermaids. By all accounts, things have been going swimmingly ever since.

1 comment:

Welcome

The menu did not exist until the late 1830s. It came into being along with the earliest hotels and restaurants, at a time when service à la russe—the serving of dishes in courses rather than all at once—was growing in popularity. For the first time, diners were granted choice and anticipation.

Menus aid our cultural memory. They provide unwitting historical evidence—not only of what people were eating, but what they were doing and with whom they were doing it; who they were trying to be; and what they valued. Deciphering the particular story behind each menu requires great sleuth-work. That’s what I'll be undertaking on this website.

My collection of menus illustrates the evolution of American culture, beginning in the mid-19th century. It contains bills of fare from a wide variety of venues, ranging from restaurants and hotels to various private organizations, military units, steamships, and trains. From the beginning, the menu has been an art form. Some were beautifully crafted by leading stationers to celebrate special events. Others simply expressed the whimsy of everyday life.

Even when saved as personal souvenirs, menus were frequently discarded by subsequent generations for whom they had no value or special meaning. As with other types of ephemera, one aspect of their appeal lies within the notion of their improbable survival.

Viewing the Menus

Scroll over images for photo credits. Click on the picture to enlarge the image.

About Me

Collecting menus reflects my interests in food, wine, art, culture, and history. I am a member of the Delaware Bibliophiles and the Library Company of Philadelphia, and am currently serving on the board of the Ephemera Society. You can contact me at Henry.B.Voigt [at] gmail.com